Affliktor - Affliktor

US American black thrash? Well, let's give it a try, even though it is only one guy that runs this project called Affliktor. Once there was a time, when a musician played guitar, bass or drums (and the keyword in this sentence is "or"). Today guys like Toby Knapp, the man behind Affliktor, plays the formerly unknown instrument namely "everything". Sometimes one can enjoy the work of a multi-talent, but mostly this is not the fact. Knapp does not belong to these guys which have been blessed with an overdose of abilities. Perhaps he understands the techniques, but he is not able to evoke any kind of emotions. In other words: the songwriting does not belong to his strengths. Due to whatever reason, he is not able to write pieces that are more than fairly structured noise.

The pieces want to be metal and the basic ingredients like screaming guitars, a malignant voice and a solid rhythm section are not missing. But I don't think that Knapp himself has an idea about what he is actually doing. I do not need necessarily a traditional verse-chorus-verse pattern, but to begin somewhere and to stop somewhere alone does not make a song. The voice lacks charisma and all of you who thought that black thrash has something to do with filth and behaviour, will be disappointed. Affliktor is aggressive, but the songs do not convey this feeling of dirt that ennobles the good albums of the bastard genre. Even worse, the aggression is not bundled. Logically, this feature alone is not enough to leave an impact.

The songs also have no organic flow. For example, listen to the nerve-shattering guitars at the beginning of "Chaos Magick Totality", the staccato riffing and the unnatural change to blast beats-compatible drumming. I can see no sense in this. The unauthentic nagging crowns the outbreak of futile terror. "Born to the Breeder" marks another example of sonic cruelty. Whenever Knapp has a good idea, he is not able to profit from it. Everything ends before it has really begun, for example in the solid riffing at the beginning of the aforementioned title. The inevitable finally happens: the entire song is going nowhere.

If I had the might to stop the release of albums like this one, I would use it immediately. But no one stops guys like Knapp that flood the market. Okay, the album is more or less well produced, but this alone is no reason to put it on the turntable, if I am not mistaken. The songs themselves suck and that's the crucial thing here. Especially the solos are an annoyance, because they add absolutely no value. Their emotionless dissonance sucks. Sad but true: I am sure that Knapp does not lack enthusiasm, but this album fails the test. Recommended to all of you who see no sense in being a metal freak any longer.

 

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